Infrastructure in Movies, from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Glenfinnan Viaduct

Suspension bridges as the stage for adrenaline-fueled chases, water tunnels that swallow heroes and villains alike, monumental dams turned into apocalyptic backdrops: cinema has discovered the allure of large-scale engineering marvles transforming them into spectacular sets.

Spaces of concrete and steel that portray, better than any soundstage, courage, fear, challenge, and progress. Because great public works embody the human spirit and its innate desire to defy nature, forge new paths, dig deep into the earth, and build bridges that overcome obstacles.

Here’s the story of several famous civil engineering works that became the silent protagonists of timeless films.

New York City’s water tunnel system is a maze of hidden routes running beneath the city, a crucial infrastructure network for the metropolis’s water management.

One of these water tunnels takes center stage in Live Free or Die Hard (2007), the fourth installment in the saga starring Bruce Willis. In one of the film’s most spectacular scenes, John McClane drives a fire truck through New York’s massive aqueduct tunnel to escape a cyber-terrorist attack.

That sequence, shot partly on sets and partly in real water tunnels, showcases the incredible water management system supplying the metropolis: over 500 kilometers of water tunnels dug as deep as 250 meters, capable of transporting 4 billion liters of water daily from the Catskills region to Manhattan and the boroughs.

A monumental work that, since 1842, has become a legend in its own right—so much so that it’s earned the nickname “New York’s Eighth Wonder.”

Tom Cruise is known for personally filming even the most dangerous scenes in his movies, without any stunt doubles. In Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018), part of the famous spy saga starring Ethan Hunt, Cruise races on a crashing helicopter as it collides with a suspension bridge in the Ecuadorian Andes.

The scene was filmed at the Saca Saca Bridge, more than 3,000 meters above sea level. In reality, the Saca Saca Bridge is a railway viaduct just 30 meters long—but movie magic transforms this train bridge into a jaw-dropping piece of infrastructure, with concrete pillars clinging to sheer cliffs.

A perfect example of how cinema magnifies engineering marvels, turning them into adrenaline-charged giants.

Christopher Nolan chose Pittsburgh as the setting for The Dark Knight Rises (2012), one of three installments in his Batman saga, partly due to the allure of its bridges.

The scene in which the villain Bane blows up the bridges connecting the city to the rest of the state was modeled on Pittsburgh’s Fort Pitt and Liberty Bridges—key symbols of this steel city.

Built in the 1950s and 1960s, the two bridges are part of a larger network of over 400 bridges that make Pittsburgh the city with the most bridges in the world, even surpassing Venice (another “city of bridges”).

If there’s one piece of infrastructure that cinema loves to destroy, it’s the Golden Gate Bridge. The famous bridge in San Francisco collapses under Godzilla’s attack in Godzilla (2014), is swept away by a tsunami in San Andreas (2015), and is torn in half in X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) when a mutant lifts it to access Alcatraz.

Built between 1933 and 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge stretches 2.7 km long and rises 227 meters high. But above all, it’s a strategic structure for the San Francisco Bay Area. According to the Golden Gate Bridge Highway & Transportation District, 112,000 vehicles cross it every day, and in 2024, tolls alone generated $154.3 million.

A unique piece of engineering marvel—and a global icon—visited by 10 million people annually. Tourism in the Golden Gate Recreation Area contributes $1.5 billion a year to California’s economy.

Its beauty and recognizability have made it not only one of the most famous bridges in the world, but also a favorite of filmmakers, who often use it as a symbol of catastrophe and rebirth.

It didn’t make it to theaters, but its beauty and grandeur earned it a starring role in a famous music video. The singer is Vasco Rossi—Italy’s most iconic rock star—the song is “Come vorrei,” and the silent star is a : the Ridracoli Dam.

Built by the Webuild Group between 1975 and 1982, this massive structure stands 103 meters high and 432 meters long, damming the Bidente River and creating an artificial lake in the heart of the Casentinesi Forests Park.

In the music video, Vasco Rossi walks along the top of the dam, singing surrounded by water and rock. A natural set that amplifies the feeling of freedom and gives the song even more power.

Today, the dam remains one of the most important water infrastructures in central Italy, supplying drinking water to millions in Romagna and northern Marche.

No journey through cinema and infrastructure would be complete without James Bond. In Skyfall (2012), 007 and M (his legendary superior) drive across Scotland in an Aston Martin and stop in front of the Glenfinnan railway viaduct.

Built between 1897 and 1901, this viaduct has 21 concrete arches, some as high as 30 meters. It’s also the famous bridge seen in the Harry Potter films, where the Hogwarts Express (the Hogwards train) steams through the Highlands. A Victorian engineering masterpiece that still offers cinema—and travelers—one of the UK’s most iconic views.